The Advisory Council of Women was established by President Kenyon Butterfield in 1921 to prepare Massachusetts Agricultural College for the reception of female students. It consisted of “representatives of various women's organizations and such other women as may be helpful in furthering the interests of women's work at the College and in the interpretation of the work throughout the State.” The Council was headed by a Chairwoman and executive board, which after 1945 included the University's Dean of Women. For most of its tenure, the Council held biannual meetings, furthering the interests of women's education at the University by encouraging the establishment of scholarships and by undertaking a number of legislative lobbying initiatives, most notably for the construction of women's dormitories and other campus buildings. The Council was dismantled in 1964 under President John William Lederle.
The online collection includes minutes, correspondence and programs related to biannual meetings of the Advisory Council on Women, legislative action, scholarships, building needs, post-war educational needs, and other concerns of the Council. Primary correspondents include Helen Curtis (Dean of Women at University of Massachusetts) and Lottie A. Leach (Council Chair). These records appear to have been kept by Dean of Women Helen Curtis.